


Oceans in Wildfire

by allforCakeCakeforall



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Band, Bickering, Cliche but also not cliche, Eventual Romance, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Slow Burn, sorry ashton and mike aren't in this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-04
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-07-06 16:24:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15889695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allforCakeCakeforall/pseuds/allforCakeCakeforall
Summary: "You were the fantasy I never knew I needed."~The one where Luke is an optimist and Calum swears he's not a pessimist.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It has been a hot minute! This was an assignment in my creative writing class last semester where we had to take an opening line and a closing line and make a story fir with both of them. I loved my work so much that I decided to post it here and make the characters Cake even though one of the characters was based off of Calum anyway. You may also see a reference to an old instagram post from his as well ;). Anyways I hope you enjoy!

  1. **Initiation**



“A story has no beginning or end; arbitrarily one chooses that moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look ahead,” was one of the first blooming thoughts he truly shared with me. In modern romance everyone is enthralled in questioning glances, the nervous tension between two love interests that everyone knows is going to end up together, and the shy awkwardness they share before finally becoming comfortable with one another. Our story isn’t like that. We’re both stubborn, believe strongly in contradicting views, and mix together as well as oil and water, but somehow, we flow together like a river glides through rocks.

            Now everyone wants to know how we met, expecting it to lead to some long drawn out crush or him being a good friend before finally getting the courage to profess his undying love for me in some kind of grand gesture. As usual, we aren’t like everyone else. The first time we met, we argued.

            The not so magical moment happened in the university library, hidden away between bookshelves that no one searches. The books in that area were so old you could practically taste the pages flaking off from the binding. When you touch the once hard and sturdy spines of the books, you could easily mistake it for newspaper. The lighting in that area is dimmer than the rest of the library with a singular ceiling lamp hanging above each aisle. You can hardly read the book titles, but it doesn’t stop him from being able to read me and the book that’s in my hand. The book is some cheesy, cliché young adult romance novel that has the same plot as the ones surrounding it, but sometimes people need to be wrapped in unrealistic romantic gestures. He walked into the narrow aisle unnoticed by me and was inspecting one of those thriller novels that make you question what’s real life and what’s make believe. I’m skimming through the ancient pages when he finally makes his presence known to me.

            “Really, one of those cotton candy romance novels?” His voice dripping with judgement, and distaste as if my reading choices affect him.

            I scoff at him and keep my eyes trained on the faded ink, “What’s so wrong with a ‘cotton candy’ romance novel?”

            “They’re unrealistic, filled with clichés, dramatic and almost always end with happily ever after. On the rare occasion there is a conflict that actually matters in a real relationship, the author makes the protagonists brush over it. Then when the couple finds a solution, suddenly the conflict is insignificant no matter how damaging it is to the characters. It leads to ridiculous unrealistic expectations from a significant other.”

            I finally raise my eyes from the book, but direct them to the buzzing ceiling lamp above me, “Well I think it’s nice to have a little fantasy in life.” Cue his groan of disagreement in 3, 2-.

            “Fantasies are for fools.”

            “Reality is for boring people.”

            “Reality is for the wise, it protects people from getting hurt, shows them what the real world is going to give to them in return for their actions.”

            I finally look at him to see what kind of pessimist I’m dealing with. He’s a mixture of the stereotypical brooding, damaged type and charming, interestingly mysterious type. His dark brown untamed curls go down to the middle of his forehead, slightly above his thick eyebrows that slightly remind me of nicely groomed caterpillars. His almond shaped eyes are squinted, square jaw tensed, plump lips closed tightly, waiting for my rebuttal.

            “How is that a way to live? You’re sheltering yourself from learning the world from what it really is. Fantasies force people to learn reality by taking chances feeling the effects of their actions opposed to thinking you know how certain things feel. Reality needs fantasies to exist.” He gives me a blank stare and holds my gaze as I tilt my head to the side to celebrate my little victory, “Are fantasies still for fools now?”

            He smiles at me slightly and nods his head, “Not bad,” he takes a step close to me, tucks the book he was reading between his bicep and side before he extends his hand out to me, “Calum.”

            I take his rough, calloused hand in mine, “Luke.”

 

  1. **The Split**



            From that moment on we bump into each other seemingly everywhere. He’s been going to my favorite coffeeshop on campus longer than I have. He’s been going to the campus gardens since move in day. He’s been living on the floor above me all semester, yet I’ve never noticed him. It’s crazy to think how someone can change from a random face in the crowd into someone who is constantly pestering your mind with how he’s going to judge something as insignificant as a toy hot dog with sunglasses on.

            Calum and I somehow use our conflicting views to grow closer together. Even though we don’t agree on just about anything, we’re able to learn from each other, gain a better understanding of the other side. We can enjoy the beautiful, but violent thoughts that flood each other’s brains like two tsunamis crashing together, no matter how hard the current tries to pull them apart.

            We ride the waves of these tsunamis with each other whenever we have the time to sit and chat in the little coffeehouse that reeks of burnt coffee grounds, marijuana lingering on the clothes of the “born in the wrong generation” clients, and stale pastries that have been ignored by the young barista too focused on if caramel drizzle goes into the white or black dispenser when it obviously goes in the brown. It’s there that I decide to deem him as “The Judge” for his constant judgement of everything from the dirty tables, to the adorable little coffee cups with a single rose painted in the center, it’s stem connecting to the handle, to the smile of each barista. I’ve come to realize this is where Calum shares his most personal thoughts with me when it comes to beliefs and how the world works.

            Calum believes there are only two types of people in this world, people that are here to teach and people that are here to learn. As usual, I disagree. Why can’t we be both? What would he classify our friendship as?

            “Well what if we’re different people with each conversation that we have?” He suggests.

            I put my mug down and look at him with narrowed eyes, “Care to elaborate, Judge?”

            He rolls his eyes in distaste towards the nickname, “You see that? That right there is exactly what I’m talking about!” I raise an eyebrow thinking what kind of person have I gotten myself involved with? He sighs, “You didn’t understand what I was trying to say, so you asked me to explain. Therefor, today I am here to teach and you are here to learn. Three months ago, however, you taught me how reality needs fantasy to exist. My point here is that you are never the same person that you were yesterday. You’re constantly changing and it’s not always a bad thing. Whether you know it or not, you gain new experiences every day that somehow impacts you. You don’t have to notice it for it to matter.” Calum takes another long sip from his mug and leans back from the table as he finishes his spiel with the edge of his lips tilted in a confident smirk at my silence.

“You know I hate it when you get deeply philosophical; makes me feel inferior.”

“You have your moments too. We need to feel inferior sometimes. It forces us to strive towards a goal, whether it be short term or long term. You want to feel superior to whatever is making you feel inferior. I think that’s the best kind of motivation there is.”

I take a sip of my coffee before putting my cup back on the table a little harder than intended, the hollow crash occurred when the bottom of the mug touched the glass top, “Do you ever think about why we can’t just be normal college students and talk about getting drunk, getting high, or bitching about professors that do their jobs, but since we messed up after they gave us countless chances suddenly they’re a horrible human being?”

He chuckles heartily as he pours some milk from the tiny metal container into his bitter black coffee, “When have we ever been normal, Luke? Being slightly abnormal has always been our signature thing.”

You see this is one of the things I cherish with Calum. We don’t feel pressured to be normal or be people we aren’t. We can be ourselves in our own imperfect world where the only people that matter are us. Despite our weird conflicting relationship we bring out the best in each other and find new pieces of each other’s minds that we can appreciate and admire. It’s a part of our relationship that I love and hold on to when other people question why I give him my time of day.

People don’t understand him. They think he comes off as rude and shows himself as superior, when he is just sharing what mind-boggling thoughts he has. It’s one of the many things that flow between Calum and me.

There will be a time where Calum will just stop and stare at me a little longer than usual. A part of me wants to know what’s going through his head, what the waves in his mind are flowing through his brain. I wonder if he can feel the same warm, welcoming feeling when our eyes linger on each other’s a little too long. I wonder if he thinks about the conversations we share at 3 am when his restless mind keeps his fatigued body awake.  I know better than to pressure him; he says he’ll share his thoughts when the time is right, but what he considers the right time I think is too far away.

 

**III. Amplification**

We don’t officially become romantically involved until an unseasonably warm night in April, which sparks the idea of having an incredibly early Fourth of July style college party. There was food, music, fireworks and most importantly booze. Would it really be a Fourth of July theme without that? I got Calum to begrudgingly agree to come with me, only if I promise not to make him interact with any sloppy drunks. The party took place at a house just five minutes away from campus. You could hear the bass to the songs shaking the windows of nearby houses from the other side of the block, smell and feel the burn from the alcohol from miles away. We tell ourselves the only reason we’re going is because one of our mutual friends is hosting, but come on who would believe that?

            Now I know what you’re thinking. There’s fireworks at this party, a lot of them, and like every teenage summer romance movie, there’s always a kiss when the fireworks go off. Well, once again, Axel and I aren’t normal, so you better hit rewind on that little cliché scene you didn’t know you were watching in your head. When the fireworks go off we do what we do best, we argue.

            Let’s take two steps back now, shall we? The two of us are drunk from a mixture of the cheap beer used for beer pong and about five or six shots of vodka that burned my throat for hours. We’re in a semi-secluded area of the backyard with our heads tilted up at the sky, shouting whatever wave of thoughts comes into our intoxicated minds up at the universe. We’re laughing and clinging on to each other as we sway to “Sweet Home Alabama” for the tenth time tonight. Now don’t worry, the few sober people were starting to set up the fireworks and they made sure the intoxicated stayed a safe distance away. Calum had stopped looking up and shifted his gaze to me as I yelled at the universe for not giving me the motivation to study for that hard biology exam I had that week.

            “You make me feel alive,” Calum whispered into the skin of my neck as he wrapped his arm around my waist. His words were absorbed into my skin, sunk into my already warm blood, but gave it a little extra jolt that I never thought I would experience with him in reality. “I don’t know what it is that you do to make me feel this way. Whenever it feels like I’m about to be blown away by the challenges of everyday life, you’re the surface that I can grab on to and keep my feet on the ground. You’re the heat from the sun that bathes my skin when it feels like I’m stuck in a blizzard. You’re the fantasy I never knew I needed.”

            Calum’s confession slowly starts to make sense in my fuzzy head and I finally tilt my head up to take him in. His hair that was as dark as night shined as if he had his own tiny stars hidden in his curls. His eyes looked at me as if I was the moon in his sky, which shone brightly above his head in a beautiful aura of magnificence. His gaze set every limb of my body into shock; I had never seen such a passionate look in his eyes, like a writer finally writing the part of the story that made them want to write it in the first place. He looked at me and I felt every nerve tingle with anxiety; this is a side of Calum I had never seen.

            Suddenly, everything felt wrong.

            I jumped away from him the second the first firework explodes into the art it was meant to create. Calum reached out to me, but I threw his arm away and moved to the front yard. He followed me in my drunken attempt to get away from him, but he just had to be too damn worried about me to let me go. He yelled my name, tried to get other guests to stop me from leaving, but no one listened. No matter how hard I tried to escape him I couldn’t, he was always quick on his feet, I guess.

            “Why did you have to say this when we’re both drunk?” I yell as the breeze swings my hair to the left.

            “Drunk or not, I still mean it.”

            “How am I supposed to know this is real? We’re both clearly intoxicated! I don’t know if I’m going to remember this tomorrow morning; if either of us is still going to feel this way tomorrow. If I don’t remember will you tell me again when we’re sober? Will you pretend that your words meant nothing? Will you go back to hiding behind you’re tough, ‘No one can hurt me’ exterior?”

            “Do you think I’m some kind of monster, Luke? I didn’t choose to tell you tonight because I knew we’d be drunk. I just can’t keep this in anymore. I’ve been wanting to tell you this for so long, but it never felt like the right time.”

            “I don’t know what to think right now! You can’t just spring this on me when I’m drunk and can’t think clearly! You don’t have the right to take this away from me!”

            Calum took a step forward and I want to take a step back, but my body wouldn’t let me and while I was cursing at the universe for not letting me move, I’m grateful for it now. He gave me that look again and as much as I wanted to punch him in the face for making me feel vulnerable and speechless, I found myself frozen and waiting on every breath.

            He took my hand in his, blunt fingers nails itched into my palm, his attempt at letting me know that we’re okay, we’re still Calum and Luke. The fireworks were exploding above us, but we tuned it out as his thumb ran laps across the back of my hand. He didn’t force me to look at him, but his hand rested on my chin out of comfort. “What exactly am I taking away from you, Luke?”

            I took a deep breath, shook the hair out of my face, and finally looked at him as the final remains of my walls were knocked down the second our eyes met. There is no judgement in his eyes, only curiosity, like he’s waiting on every syllable like a dog waiting for a treat. “You’re taking away every reason I’ve told myself why we shouldn’t be together, every reason I’ve told myself I’d be better off without you flooding my head.”

            The last firework exploded above us we stand stock still, barely any space between us as our hearts ran as fast as water from a faucet, almost drowning out the sound of cheers from the other partygoers. “Nothing has to drastically change right now. I don’t think we can pretend this conversation never happened, but we don’t need to catch fire right away. This is just as nerve-wracking for me as it is for you. We’re a spark right now, but we can grow into flames with time, maybe even explode into fireworks.”

            “Fireworks fizzle out quickly.”

            “As do some type of fires. It’s up to us to decide how long we’re going to burn and if we’re going to be put out easily.”

            We hold each other’s gazes at that point, it could have been seconds, minutes, even hours. At that moment all that mattered was us, not the party, not the fireworks. The most important thing in that moment was they way he looked at me like I was the only thing he truly cared about. As the last firework burst and faded back into the natural dark beauty of the night sky, he leaned in and pressed his lips gently to mine. The kiss contradicted the pulsing emotions flowing through us, but we didn’t need a rushed or “heated” kiss to show each other how deeply we felt for each other. We knew through our body language how we were affecting each other as we clung on to each other as if we were against all the forces in the universe trying to separate us.

            And before you say anything we kissed once the fireworks ended so it still wasn’t that level of cliché that Cal despises so much. No matter how many times he denies it, I know the truth.

 

 **IV: The Run-Up**        

Our spark grows from that moment forward, Calum argues that the spark started growing when we first met, we still argue just as much as usual. Our flame still grows into a fire that is becoming harder and harder to put out. Our story has had many endings and has more endings to come, never break ups, but every stage in our relationship has multiple endings. Then there are more and more endings: the sixth, the 53rd, the 131st, the 9,435th ending, endings going faster and faster, more and more endings, faster and faster until this book is having 186,000 endings per second. We look forward to every ending that comes our way. We have yet to reach the finale, but I pray to god it doesn’t happen anytime soon.


	2. The Split p. II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya! This is a scene that I thought of after I wrote the initial story and is meant to take place after the cafe scene. I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

**II.i The Split pt.2**

“Do you ever think about how the universe works?”

We’re stargazing on the currently unused football field with nothing illuminating us except for a flickering lantern due to half dead batteries and the light radiating from the moon. Calum insisted on us celebrating the end of the finals by us drinking on the field the night before we have to tell our parents how totally awesome and not crippling college was sold with fake smiles and totally unnatural high-pitched voices to cover our hangovers. Calum is laying on my left, his head is level with mine, but his body is facing the opposing goal post. His hair is longer now, just as curly and wild, but instead of stopping just below his ears it’s now closer to his shoulders. He keeps complaining that he needs to get it cut, but not just _anyone_ can cut his hair and he is not about to let an inexperienced barber cut it. The bottle of vodka he had stashed for the special occasion now half empty next to us.

“Care to elaborate?” He says as he rolls over on to his side and raises his head into his hand.

“I mean, do you think there’s a reason that we’re alive at the same time? Or that we’re even placed on the same planet? The same realm? The same universe?”

He chuckles at me, and while it’s as loud as a super sonic boom in my head, the wind carries it as gently as it carries a feather. I wonder if he feels how much we contradict each other as much as I do. “You see that’s a hard question.”

“Well you see, I have all night.”

I can practically hear his eyes rolling into the back of his head and the annoyance flooding his brain like raging waves hit the shore, “I should have known that answer wasn’t going to satisfy you.”

            “I know what you’re doing. Quit procrastinating and tell me what you think about what I asked you. You know I don’t let things go.”

            He smiles as he hovers over me for a second to show me that he’s sticking his tongue out at me, “You know I don’t have to subject myself to this treatment. I don’t know why the universe forced us into each other’s lives.”

            “I think people are like magnets. We attract the opposite of what we think we want, and I swear to god don’t even think of giving me that smirk. I did not mean romantically attract.”

            Calum full on howls at that and flops down on to his back with a wide smile on his face. He’s smiling so bright and wide that he’s able to illuminate the field even brighter than the lantern and his eyes are crinkling so much that an iron couldn’t even smooth them out. His nose shrivels up with joy as his laugh creates my favorite symphony of gasping breaths and giggles as he tries to recompose himself.

            I can’t help but laugh with him as he shows no signs of calming down, our laughs being absorbed by the thick green grass and air. I feel the laughter consume us and all I can focus on is the echoes of our laughter fading into the bleachers and trees. We lay there clutching our sides for I don’t know how long, but I could never hope for anything else. Being surrounded by nothing but pure and unfiltered Calum offers a strange feeling that nearly reminds me of home, but the waves in my head drag that thought back into the current before I can dwell on it for too long.

            His laughter fades first and his smile dims slightly as his eyes lock on a particular star that my eyes can’t seem to follow. He stares at it almost longingly as he releases a deep breath that fills the atmosphere with a painful undertone. His eyes flicker to me as I watch his chest rise and fall back into a steady rhythm almost as if he’s trying to reign in his emotions. “I think the universe sends us people we need in our lives in an effort to save them.”

            I furrow my eyebrows and refuse to move my gaze from his profile, “What do you mean?”

            His smile completely falls at that point, “I believe everyone has their own aura that only connects to the universe. They change every day which explains new people entering your life and people leaving your life. The universe will somehow force compatible auras together in an effort to save them from making a mistake or maybe even death.”

            I roll over onto my side, hair rustling against each strand of grass in its path, “What lead to this belief?”

            “I believe in it because it’s how my grandpa saved me from possibly killing myself.”

            I find myself frozen and at a loss for words. I always knew Calum was a lone wolf and surrounded by mystery, but I never thought he’d struggle with something like that. As I’m about to respond, he cuts me off with a voice as gentle as water in a pond, unlike his usual kind of unaffected, bored tone.

            “Look before you jump to conclusions it wouldn’t have been intentional.” Well that’s a relief. “My dad left my mom, sister and I when I was six. Bastard didn’t even have the decency to pay child support. I had never met my dad’s side of the family because he told us his father basically disowned him and he wanted nothing to do with his family. That was one of the many lies he told us. My junior year of high school I got myself involved with the wrong crowd. I wasn’t a hardcore drug dealer or a criminal, but that’s beside the point. We’d break into town parks, speed away from police, drive onto private beaches to smoke weed, graffiti tunnels, the list goes on. My mom always worried, but it was the first feeling of adrenaline I’ve ever felt, and it was addictive to me. I couldn’t bring myself to stop, even for her.

            “My mom got a call from an unknown number and for whatever reason, she answered it. My grandpa from my dad’s side had somehow tracked us down and wanted to be a part of our lives. We were all confused by that. My mother had never met him, and she was skeptical to let him into our lives. She was worried he’d leave us too. After about twenty pointless calls later, she decided that she trusted him enough for us to meet him. At first I was the typical stereotypical teenager that wanted nothing to do with my disgrace of a dad that left. I was cold to him for the first three months I knew him while he was nothing but nice to me. He was nothing but understanding and patient and god that made it so hard for me to keep myself closed off from him. No matter how cold or mean I was to him, he always tried and showed me love. When I finally decided to let him into my life, he taught me everything I know. He shared his wisdom with me whenever he saw fit.

            There was one night where my friends were planning on breaking into this old abandoned factory. I was supposed to go with them, but my Grandpa called me and said he needed me to go over and fix his water heater for him. I tried telling him that I had plans I couldn’t miss out on and asked him if he needed it to be fixed that day and when he told me it was urgent, something was telling me I truly had to go there and not with my friends. So I went to his house. Fixing his water heater only took about thirty minutes and I was ready to go home and meet with my friends, but he insisted I stay for dinner, claiming he had several to make up for and I couldn’t force myself to leave him. He ordered pizza and we talked for hours and hours about whatever came to his mind. He told me stories of him and my grandma when they were young, how full of life they were and how he couldn’t wait to see me grow into the man I was meant to be. That night I didn’t need the adrenaline to feel alive.

            “I went home shortly after that conversation and texted my friends to tell them I was sorry for bailing and hoped they had a good time. I never got a response, but it was nearly 3am so I just thought they were asleep. The next morning, I was in the kitchen chatting with my sister, Brittney with the news playing in the background when I saw it. There had been a massive fire at the abandoned factory. One of my dumbass friends decided to turn on one of the machines that were left there and since it was old and hasn’t been used in years an electrical fire started. It spread quick; my friends couldn’t get out in time and the building collapsed before the one that got separated could get help. I was supposed to be there that night, Luke. I blamed myself for their deaths for a while. I convinced myself that if I were there with them, they’d still be alive, they’d be with their families, they’d be in college just like us. I never stopped to think that if I were there with them, I’d be dead too.

            “Grandpa was the one to make me realize that and he told me that he had a bad feeling that I’d be in trouble if I didn’t go to his house that night. It’s nuts how a man I never knew existed has such a huge impact on my life.”

            I lay in silence as I attempt to process all the information Calum just threw at me. He could have died that night. He wouldn’t be here with me. I wouldn’t have met him in that abandoned part of the library. I would have never gotten this knowledge from him.

I would have never fallen in love with him, whether its platonic or romantic love I’m not one hundred percent sure, but it’s still _love_.

I wrap one of his curls around my week-old manicured thumb that’s starting to chip and twirl it around. He told me once his mom did that to calm him as a child when he had a nightmare, I wonder if she did that after he lived through this one. I study his face and take notice of the small changes in his face. His jaw is set more than usual, his Adam’s Apple bobs harsher than usual, his eyes look far away, his chest is rising and falling quicker than before and he keeps quietly clearing his throat when I realize what Calum hates most in the world.

He hates feeling weak and he’s trying to hold back from me. My mind is flooded with the need to comfort him, make him feel okay again. I wanted to be his safe space.

“I’d love to meet him, your grandfather.” I say barely above a whisper.

Calum inhales deeply, lowers his chin to his neck, clamps his eyes shut, and clears his throat, “Yeah I would have loved for you to meet him too; but he uh, he died right before the semester started. Heart attack; he didn’t feel a thing.”

My eyes widen, and I can’t stop the gasp from escaping my mouth. His eyes are closed but crinkled now, his chest rising and falling rapidly in attempt calm himself down, his jaw tensed more than I’ve ever seen. “Calum I’m so-.”

“Please don’t say you’re sorry for me,” Calum cuts me off, rendering me speechless. “Luke, please don’t say you’re sorry for me I’ve heard that so much before coming here. This is meant to be my escape from that. Let me escape from it please.”

His words are rushed, he’s panting now and before I can think of a reason not too, I turn my body around to lay beside him and pull his head down to my heartbeat. He’s cracking apart, but still hasn’t fully burst as I shush him and continue to twirl his curls with my fingers. “Calum, it’s okay. It’s me, Calum. I’m here for you. It’s okay. You’ve been so strong for so long. You can let go now.”

Calum bursts and holds me tightly as a sob rips its way out of his mouth. He pulls my body directly against his as his body shakes with sobs and tears. He’s gasping for breath as the tears continue to fall and no matter how much it hurts to see him like this, he needs to let this pent up hurt out. He was strong for so long that he felt like he couldn’t be weak for the sake of his loved ones. He’d rather suffer in silence then trouble others with his problems. Yet, he’s never had anyone force him to let it go and he didn’t know how to handle it. No matter how badly he wanted to stay strong in front of me, he couldn’t.

Calum only needed someone to hold him when he needed to cry. He doesn’t need me to reassure him that everything is okay now, because he knows it is, but he never let this wound heal completely, it’s simply scabbed over right now.

I hold Calum through it all, no matter how hard he tries to push me away while he’s crying, I refuse to let him go, I won’t let go until the last drop falls from his eyes. His breathing starts to calm down after, well, I don’t truly know how long since time tends to break whenever I’m with him, but the tears still fall. I pull his head away from my chest just to wipe his tears, his eyes still clamped shut. His eyelashes flutter slightly as I touch my knuckles to his right cheek before he opens his wet, chocolate brown eyes to me and despite how upsetting this moment is, I’m trapped by his beauty.

His eyes lock with mine as my knuckles continue to gently rub his cheekbone. My lungs feel like they have too much air, but not enough at the same time. His eyes sparkle slightly and as much as I try and convince myself that it’s the remainder of his breakdown, something tells me it’s something else. I take a deep breath as I lower his forehead to mine, “I’m here for you, okay? I’m not going anywhere any time soon. I’m all yours.”

Calum nods his head slightly and I can feel his breath tickling my mouth and nose. If I just tilt my head up then we would be- no. Now isn’t the time for that. I put my hands behind me to start and sit up. Calum takes the message and moves off of me to sit next to me. I ruffle his curls a bit which causes him to chuckle before he shakes his head with a small smile. I reach for the bottle of vodka and twist off the cap, “Alright let’s give you some swigs of this before we head back to the dorms alright? You may need some to tolerate being away from me for a month.”

Calum laughs and takes the bottle from me and raises the bottle to his chapped lips, “Thank god. I think I need a bit of a break from you.”

My jaw drops in mock shock before I grab a handful of grass and throw it at him, mid-sip of vodka. He splutters around the opening and coughs twice before his eyes set in a thin line. “Oh you’re gonna regret that, Lukey.”

I jump up and bolt away from me as he chases after me a full smile on his face, that I swear shines brighter than all the stars combined.


End file.
